Meet Stefanie Tacata | CEO and Co-Founder – Stateless

We had the good fortune of connecting with Stefanie Tacata and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Stefanie, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Risk-taking is necessary in business, and in life in general. Looking back on our company’s history, every time we “leveled-up” was a direct result of taking a significant risk. When we signed the lease on our first office in downtown Manhattan, when we hired our first W2 employee, when we signed our first contract with a Fortune 500 company, all of these were risks that ultimately lead to the next level of success for Stateless. That said, any risk we take at Stateless is not without significant scrutiny and an almost 75% chance of leading to a financial return. We also don’t use the word “risk” in our company; we much prefer “opportunity.” Once we identify an opportunity, we quickly SWOT the opportunity by asking ourselves – does it fit into our company values? Do we have the resources to support the opportunity? Can we easily execute on the opportunity? Is there an obvious path to financial return on the opportunity? What happens, in the worst case scenario, if the opportunity doesn’t pan out? If the answers lead us to jumping on the opportunity, we then make the quick decision to proceed and take immediate action.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I was actually pretty lost in college, choosing History as a major because it was the easiest subject for me. I thought once I graduated, I might have a better idea of “what I wanted to be when I grew up.” But alas, I decided to get my MA in History to buy some time. From there I taught writing as an adjunct professor in Japan and traveled a bit around Asia. After a few years, I moved to NYC and worked as a director of international programming at a consulting firm for higher education. I met my wife, Souad Acha, a corporate fashion designer in 2013. She was building expert teams for emergent DTC brands to get their product to market. As more and more brands sought her capabilities, it dawned on me that what I had learned at the educational consulting company in terms of organizational structure and pricing could help transform her freelance gigs into a fully fledged business. In 2015, I stepped away from my job to become the CEO of Stateless Fashion Design. I was Surprisingly, everyday I recognize the crossover between my career in international higher education and the fashion world. At the core of both fields are people expressing culture through language. But most importantly, I completely switched industries and professions at 34 years old. It’s never too late and you never know what life might bring.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
NYC doesn’t lack in places to visit and things to see. If my best friend was visiting for a week, I would make sure to:

Eat and drink!
Breakfast – Russ & Daughter’s Cafe, Jack’s Wife Freda, and Miriam’s in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
Brunch – Clinton Street Baking Company, Bubby’s, and Sadelle’s
Lunch – Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao for dumplings or the quintessential Katz Deli
Dinner – Laser Wolf in Brooklyn, Le Cou Cou for fancy, Dhamaka for Indian, or Zou Zou’s

Walk it off!
Walk the shops in Soho
Walk the Brooklyn Bridge
Walk the High Line
Walk the midtown highlights (Grand Central, Rock Square, Times Square)
Walk Central Park
Walk China Town
*and probably eat and drink along the way!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Shoutout to our Leadership Team!

Evan Polivy, our Director of Brand Development at Stateless. He always sees the big picture and motivates us to reach for the moon.

Souad Acha, our Chief Project Officer at Stateless. She keeps us grounded and is obsessed with maintaining our standards and company values.

Website: https://www.stateless.nyc/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stateless.nyc/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefanietacata/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYC9Pi5hqaQiJ5LBzkNblQg/videos

Other: https://www.statelessgroup.com/ https://www.instagram.com/stateless.group/

Image Credits
Royal Nation (https://royalnation.com/) East on Rodeo (https://eastonrodeo.com/) Alex & Scottie (https://alexandscottie.com/)